Miraculous The Legend of the Storyteller or Switched
by Krazy Knight
Summary: This is a sequel to my The Straw that Broke the Camels Back or The Return of Anti Bug story. In this episode the repercussions of Marrinette and Chloe's Kiss are somewhat revealed even as Lady Bug and Cat Noir have their Miraculouses switched.
1. Chapter 1

Quick notes

This was mostly written before season 2 started, but I was waiting for my proof reader to read it. That still hasn't happened, so I tried to proof it best I could. My apologies for typos and such.

I do not own these characters, I'm just borrowing them for now.

 _And if you haven't read "The Straw that Broke the Camels Back or The Return of Anti Bug" you'll probably be a little lost._

 ** _Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir 2_  
**

 **The Legend of the Storyteller or Switched  
**

"Isn't it weird that Chloe and Marinette are getting along?" Rose commented to Juleka as they sat eating lunch watching as Marinette offered Chloe a pastry from her family's bakery. It wasn't unusually for Marinette to bring in food, but neither could remember the last time they had seen her offer one to Chloe. That Chloe accepted it was also amazing,

"Very much so." Juleka replied as she took a bite of her own Dupain-Cheng Pastry. She let out a little pleased noise as she ate. Rose giggled.

"I know Chloe is a meanie and all, to pretty much everyone, or at least was, but she's always been harsher with Marinette, do you know why?" Rose asked keeping the conversation going.

"I don't know. I know they've been in class together for years, but I don't think any of us where with them the first year." A surprising long sentence from Juleka. Rose smiled a moment.

"Aren't they both in love with the same guy?" She whispered. Adrian strained to hear the girls. He'd been listening to all of his classmates more often when it came to Marinette, hoping to learn more about her. He was a little ashamed of himself for not knowing more about her when he thought about it. He knew she was into Fashion, video games, and occasionally dressed up as a superhero.

"Do you really think Chloe is capable of love?" Juleka responded. Rose giggled again.

"I suppose everyone is capable of love, but it is hard to imagine her actually in love with someone." She giggled again. "Maybe they'll both be possessed by an Akuma and fight over him." Juleka shook her head, but she was smiling as she did so. Adrien groaned to himself. **_Why couldn't they just say a name? Why? And who does Chloe love? I mean she hits on me all the time, but I know it's just because she wants to use me to become famous._**

 ** _Maybe I should have told her I knew when I had the chance_**. Adrien frowned and laid his head on the table in front of himself. **_But, no, I had to be sneaky and try to learn on my own. Why am I so stupid at times?_** He sighed.

"It's so frustrating!" He yelled out loud without realizing it. He noticed all of the sounds from the lunch vanished. He looked up to see everyone staring at him. Chloe stood up and walked over to him. She sat down and put her hand on his shoulder. She spoke, but he wasn't paying any attention to what she was saying, he was looking at Marinette and her annoyed expression. He realized he saw that expression a lot from her. He was pretty sure they were friends, at least friendly enough. Did she still hold a grudge about the gum on her seat? Adrian was fairly certain that he'd cleared that up with her that first week of school. She'd even smiled at him at that time too, although since then she always acted so weird around him or just looked annoyed or angry at him. **_What do I need to do to make sure things are cool with us? I can't admit to her I'm Cat Noir or that I know she's Ladybug until I figure out where we stand with each other as Marientte and Adrien._**

"Well?" Chloe asked sounding a little annoyed.

"Huh?" He asked. Chloe actually looked a little hurt. "I'm sorry, I was lost in my own thoughts." He admitted to his childhood friend.

"Oh Adri-kins, if you have a problem and need someone to talk to, you can always talk to me. I've been told I'm really good listening." The room was suddenly filled with giggles and laughter at that statement. Chloe lifted her head and let out a somewhat angry scream, before turning and walking out of the room. Sabrina got up and ran after her. All in all, it was pretty tame for a Chloe freak out. She was certainly maturing. He glanced over at Marinette who quickly looked away from him and studied her sketchbook with Alya.

 ** _Alya, I can ask her what the deal with Marinette is. She's her best friend after all._** Adrien smiled broadly as he leaned back in his chair. He would need to meet with her when she was alone, probably after school. He had a short period of time between the end of the school day and he was picked up for fencing practice.

* * *

Class couldn't end fast enough, only a few minutes left before Adrien would be able to try and get Alya alone. He'd coopted Nino into distracting Marinette so she wouldn't get in the way. The good thing about Nino, he didn't even ask why Adrien wanted to talk to Alya without Marinette around. Being that Alya and Nino had gotten closer, and Adrian knew so, he figured Nino wasn't worried about him trying to hit on her ** _. Or has Nino noticed my sudden interest in Marinette?_** He wondered as he rushed out of the class behind Alya. He heard the sound of a crash behind him and grinned. Sounded like Nino used Marinette's civilian clumsiness against her.

"Alya, do you have a moment, I have a question for you?" He asked. She paused and smiled getting out her phone. "Off the record please." He added. She frowned a moment. The problem with being famous with a blogger as a classmate, she often wanted to record the goings-on in case it was blog worthy. The more hits the merrier.

"Sure, what about?"

"Is Marinette angry with me? She always acts so weird when I'm around her, and often looks at me likes she's annoyed about something I'm doing." He stated. Alya blinked confused.

"You've noticed Marinette? I mean noticed her odd reactions when you're around?" She smiled. "And you figured she's angry at you, like doesn't like you?" She asked. He nodded and frowned. It was sounding to him like he was right about it with how Alya was reacting.

"Yeah, I thought we were friends, or you know, friendly, but just sometimes, I wonder what she's thinking about, like does she secretly hate me." Alya couldn't help it, and she started to laugh. "It's not funny, and you can't tell her I asked. I feel like I'm already on thin ice with her." He added. Alya doubled over laughing.

"That's the funniest thing I've heard, Marinette hates you." She spoke through her laughter. Adrian didn't find it funny, not at all and said so.

"It's really not funny at all."

"It is, it really is, if you only knew… Marinette hates you. I'm laughing so hard it hurts." She gasped through her laughter. It took her a few moments to recover herself enough to speak and really answer his questions, but by then he was gone. Her eyes wide she saw Adrien was being carried by The Gorilla and getting a lecture from Nathalie Sancoeur.

"You were late to practice yesterday Adrien, and you're father was very upset about it. I'm sorry we had to go to such lengths today, but it is not only you who gets into trouble when you're late of miss an appointment." Alya could hear Nathalie say as they walked out of range. She could see the rather depressed look on Adrien's face as she was slung over The Gorilla's shoulder.

"Oh no." She gasped as she ran after them. It was too late. They already made it into the Limo. She pulled out her cell phone and quickly called him. **_Is Adrien that upset because he thinks Marinette really doesn't like him?_** She heard a phone ringing behind her and saw Marinette walking towards her carrying Adrien's school bag.

"Is Adrien still here, he left this behind." She stated. Alya rolled her eyes

"Figures." She groaned. "I'll have to clear things up with him later." She breathed under her breath, "Or maybe…" She smiled and louder "Marinette, why don't you deliver this to Adrien at fencing today. You know where he practices after all." She smiled sweetly.

"I'm um, not really sure that's a good idea." She remarked. "I would just make a fool of myself like I usually do. You know I can't talk to him."

"I know, but you really, really need to get over it." Alya insisted. **_Because I think he likes you._** She added in her head. Adrien asked her not to say anything to Marinette and she felt she should, but she didn't want to break Adrien's trust either. That didn't mean that she couldn't push the two of them.

"But, but." Mariette protested.

"No buts, except maybe his in those tight fencing pants." Alya added. "You really want to see that don't you?" Marinette was actually drooling a little.

"All right, I'll do it." Marinette grabbed Alya's hand. "And you're coming with me." She started to drag her best friend with her. **_I guess I asked for this._** Alya smiled to herself.

* * *

The pair made it to Adrien's fencing practice just as he was sitting down next to Nino, who had stopped by as well. Marinette frowned a little and steadied herself to go speak with him.

"Bug-a-boo." She heard him say. She looked up at Adrien and met his eyes. Adrian turned to Nino and continued to speak.

"Huh." Nino had asked.

"Bug-A-Boo." Adrien said again looking at her with his peripheral vision and noticed Marinette's eye start to twitch and a panicked look appeared on her face. "I heard Cat Noir call Ladybug that the last time I saw them together." He stated. He glanced at Marinette and saw her face move to a more relived expression. "I kind of think it's adorable." He added. The look of pure horror that appeared on her face after that, said it all. **_I think I really screwed that up. She's never going to be okay with me now._**

"Um, this is yours, you left it behind." Marinette said and practically tossed his bag at him. She grabbed Alya's hand and ran off pulling her friend with her. Alya looked like she wanted to say something but barely kept up with Marinette's pace.

"Ugh." Adrien face palmed himself. Nino glanced at him, head cocked to the side.

"Dude, you okay?" He asked, concerned for his friend.

"I guess." He sighed. Nino shook his head. "Dude, just tell her."

"What?" Adrien looked panicked.

"Never mind."

* * *

"We're not the American news media, you can't just make up stories and put them in the paper!" The head editor of the Paris Newspaper yelled at Sherrie Roux. She'd been caught for the third time, making up a sensational story to put in the paper. "This is the third lawsuit I've had to deal with. What is it the American's you're so fond of emulating say, Third Strike and You're Out. Clean out your desk and don't darken my door any longer."

"You'll regret this." Sherrie stated as she turned and slammed the door behind her. A crack formed in the glass. Sherrie went to her desk a pulled out all of her personal items, while considering how hard it would be to download some Malware into the newspaper's servers before she left. She finished and left the office without doing anything malicious.

"How dare he fire me over a few made up facts." She grumbled as she walked through the park. "I'll show him, I'll make him pay." She stated as she swung her favorite pen around. It was a gift she received from her father when she graduated university. She always used it to take notes, or in many recent cases, make up notes for her articles. She squeezed her hand on it as a butterfly with a dark glow landed on it. She watched as it merged with her pen.

"Storyteller, I am Hawkmoth. I can give you the power to get revenge on your editor, with the ability to, unlike the so-called Journalists in American, make your false narratives come to life. All you have to get is retrieve the Miraculouses from Ladybug and Cat Noir."

"I will do as you ask." Storyteller replied with a smile as she transformed. Her short cropped brown hair turned yellow as her cream colored pantsuit changed into a newsprint dress with a slit along the left side, with neon filled images as the photos. "And I will have my revenge!" She cackled.

* * *

"A what?" Adrien asked the TV and he turned to face it.

"You heard me, a giant Cyclops is attacking the Paris Newspaper Office." The reporter repeated almost as if she were answering his question."

"Claws out Plagg." He cried as posed for transformation. Once he'd changed, he stopped briefly to grab a couple of individually wrapped snack sized cheeses from his mini-fridge and slipped them into the hidden pockets of his costume. He quickly made his way out into the real world, jumping from rooftop to rooftop or using his pole to vault over the larger gaps. It didn't take him long to reach the building that housed the paper. He quickly spotted Ladybug as she landed on a nearby roof.

"Ah, Bug-A-Boo, I'm happy to see you here already." He stated and realized what he'd said. He really wanted to stop calling her that since she hated it so much and he could tell how much she did when he saw Marinette's reaction. He looked at her expecting to see her eye twitch, instead he noticed something odd instead. **_She's Blushing? What the Hell_**? He wondered.

"Cat Noir, lets try and take care of this quickly." She remarked and started to swing her yo-yo.

"Of course, My Lady." He replied as the two headed towards Giant Cyclops. "Do you see anything that is likely holding the Akuma?" He added they got closer.

"No, I do not. We'll just have to play it by ear." She swung her Yo-yo up up towards a rooftop so she could swing at the giant Cyclopes' head. She placed a kick to it's head as Cat Noir stuck his staff between it's legs. The Cyclopes fell and fell hard. As Ladybug landed next to Cat Noir, the creature vanished. The pair stared at the spot it had fallen and the cracks left behind in the concrete.

"Ohhhh kay My Lady, where did it go?"

"I have no idea. It must have been some creation, not the actual Akumatized victim." She replied always feeling stupid for being put in a position to state the obvious. She started to look around for any sign of someone who might have been controlling the creature. "Lets split up and search." She suggested. Cat Noir nodded as they both headed in opposite directions. Since neither of them used their powers they were able to stay transformed for hours as they searched. Unfortunately they did not find anything and eventually had to give up.

* * *

"Did you see the story I linked to my Ladyblog?" Alya asked as Marinette took her seat in class. Marinette shook her head. She would never admit it to Alya, but she rarely looked at the Ladyblog. She lived most of the stories on there. Alya showed her the link on her phone.

"Ladybug and Cat Noir Leave Massive Damage" She read the headline out loud and continued with the story. It appears that Paris's young heroes decided not to use their powers to fix the destruction they caused in their battle." As she read, Marinette's voice became louder with anger. "Who writes this kind of garbage? Ladybug and Cat Noir wouldn't leave a mess like that if they could help it." She cried.

"I know, I thought it was strange when I saw it." Alya remarked. More students started to pour in. Marinette was about to go on when Adrien walking in the door with Nino, Distracted her. Alya just shook her head at the googely eyes her best friend was showing. Alya knew it would be a while before she would be able to get Marinette's mind someplace else.

"Okay Class, settle down. Now I want to pair everyone up for a project." Alya smiled and shoved Marinette over the table and onto the bench, upside-down next to Adrien.

"Nino, quick up here." She exclaimed to pull Nino away from Adrien. The teacher sighed audibly watching the antics of some of her students. **_At least Chloe and Marinette aren't going at each other's throats yet._**

"Um, do you need some help?" Adrien asked turning to look at Marinette's rear end at face level while her head under the desk and her arms the only thing holding her up and keeping her from totally sliding under it.

"This is so embarrassing." She whispered to herself. "Yes, please." She said a little louder. Adrien helped her sort herself out so she was sitting on the bench next to him. Marinette did her best to not mimic a giggling fan-girl, but failed miserably at the start of the project. Adrien kept giving her odd looks, truly confused by her giggling persona, compared to the more irritated one he was use to seeing from her. Sometimes he wished she was as transparent as Chloe, who obviously only wanted to use him to gain fame for herself. They'd been friends well before he started really modeling for his father, but he'd noticed her getting a little jealous of it, especially after his father rejected her as a model candidate.

By the end of the project, Mariette had recovered her sensibilities and worked well with Adrien on it. Much to her disappointment, they managed to finish it in class, which meant they didn't have to get together outside of class. She sighed softly and looked back at Alya and Nino, who both gave her a thumbs up. She responded with an irritated glance. Unfortunately for her, Adrien choose that moment to look back at her, thinking she was once again annoyed with him, causing him to frown. That in turn gave Marinette the impression that he was unhappy with her. It was a vicious circle, that could only be fixed by telling the truth, so naturally, it wouldn't be fixed anytime soon by either of them.

* * *

Two days in a row, an enemy had attacked the city of Paris, and two days in a row, the enemy vanished when Ladybug and Cat Noir tried to defeat it. Two days worth of Damage around Paris that went unfixed because neither of the teen superheroes were able to find the mastermind behind the attacks. Whoever was behind it, was staying well hidden. Ladybug and Cat Noir were both a little frazzled.

* * *

"Storyteller, I am feeling a little impatient with you." Hawkmoth stated as he spoke to his Akumatized warrior. "Why don't you just write that they handed over their miraculouses?"

"I tried that Hawkmoth. It didn't work. My powers seem to need some more of a basis to them. I've been trying test the limits of my powers as well as turn the people of Paris against them. It's a slow process, but it's working. I have a new plan to try and defeat them." She explained with a smile.

* * *

Marinette woke up and yawned. She was a little surprised to see that Tiki wasn't already flittering around the room as she tended to do. Something felt a little off to her though. She raised her hand to her ear and felt nothing. Her eyes opened wide as she checked her other ear. Both of her earrings were gone. She panicked as she started to rip apart her bed searching for them. She stopped there breathing hard while she was looking around the room. On her desk was a box similar to the one that her Miraculous was originally in. Well not quite, it was a different color. She opened it up and saw inside was a ring.

"Is that Cat Noir's ring?" She asked aloud. As she touched it, a small flying black cat thing appeared.

"What happened, why was I in the box A…" Plagg started to say and froze when he saw Marinette. The Kwami started to look around quickly.

"That's what I'd like to know." Marinette replied. "You're Cat Noir's Kwami, aren't you?" She asked. Plagg nodded, keeping surprisingly quiet and looking around concerned. Marinette suddenly freaked out. "What am I saying, I have no idea what a Kwami is, none what so ever." She added and frowned. "You can't tell him anything." She stated when she saw the look on Plagg's face.

"I won't tell him anything." He replied with another nod. "Do you have any Camembert Cheese, Marinette?" He asked. Marinette sighed with relief then panicked again.

"How do you know my name?" She asked. Plagg looked a little shocked now.

"Well, um, you helped Cat Noir and Ladybug with that Evilistrator guy. I remember you from that." Once more Marinette looked relieved as she headed down to the family kitchen to see about some cheese for her guest. **_Okay, my earrings are gone and I have Cat Noir's ring. Does that mean he has my earrings and if so, how did they get switched?_** She thought to herself as she dug out the cheese. She cringed as she got a whiff of it. How her mother could stand it, she would never understand.

"What should I call you?" She asked.

"Plagg." He replied as he flew up and snagged the piece of cheese from her hand and started to wolf it down.

"So, I'm pretty sure my Miraculous is gone. Do you think Cat Noir has it?" She blinked her mouth dropped open. "Did Cat Noir figure out who I was and steal my earrings because Ladybug won't go out with him?" She leapt right out with a terrible conclusion.

"I can honestly tell you Cat Noir did not steal your Miraculous because Ladybug wouldn't go out with him." Plagg spoke to comfort her, knowing that Adrien did not want her to know she knew who she was. It appeared to work.

"Can you take his ring back to him?" She asked. "And if he has mine, Tiki can bring it back?" Plagg shook his head.

"We can't transport the Miraculouses like that." He explained. "And until Cat Noir is willing to tell you who he is, I can't tell you either. Same with Tiki, she can't tell him who you are without your permission."

"How do I give him back his ring and get back my earrings?" She questioned with her hands against the sides of her head with worry and a headache. "What happens when another attack happens?" She asked, and almost if on queue, the radio announced another strange attack.

"I think perhaps you shouldn't have asked that question." Plagg commented. Marinette gave him a somewhat dirty look. He shrugged.

"You have to tell me who Cat Noir is Plagg, I need to get this ring back to him, and I need to get my earrings back otherwise we can't fight this enemy."

"You can use the ring yourself."

"What?"

"You can use the ring yourself."

"How can I do that? It's not my Miraculous."

"While it's true some people are really compatible to with certain Miraculouses, anyone can use any of them. You can use the ring and A…erm Cat Noir can use your earrings. Knowing him, he'll probably do it too. He liked being a hero."

"Okay, what do I need to do?" She asked. Plagg smiled a moment later Marinette slipped the ring on her finger. "Plagg, Claw's Out." She cried. She felt the shock of a first transformation, as she energy surrounded her and changed her into Cat Noir. She looked at herself in the full-length mirror she had and smiled.

"You know, I like this uniform." She stated as she pulled out Cat Noir's expanding staff and climbed out her skylight. She expanded the staff and used it to vault to the next roof and head towards the attack.

* * *

"But I don't have pierced ears." Adrien stated when Tiki announced that he should use the Earrings to transform and fight.

"Then it's really going to hurt." Tikki replied.

"Can't I just take them back to um Mar-ahh iii Lady, Ladybug?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you who she is. She doesn't want you to know right now, and I can't and won't break that trust." **_He's not as suave when he's not Cat Noir,_** She thought to herself. "Do you have a raw potato anywhere, maybe some ice?" She asked in a helpful tone. Adrien frowned.

BREAK

Marinette as Cat Noir could see the Red and Black Ladybug uniform in the distance. She smiled despite herself ** _. Looks like Cat Noir does take the Super Hero thing seriously, at least enough that he'll use my Miraculous when needed._** She vaulted over and landed next to him, startling him.

"Bug-A-Boo." She cried in joy as he often did to her. He turned to look at her, his ears a little red, like they were freshly pierced.

"Ah, My Lady." He remarked and smiled, looking at her. She looked him over and froze mid body on him.

"Wow, that, um uniform does not hide anything on you does it?" She asked. His face turned so brightly red, the mask practically disappeared. "Not that there is anything wrong with that." She fumbled with her words. "I mean it's pretty impressive really." She added. He crouched down, and held his hands over himself.

"My Lady, in one of those upper pockets, should be, at least I hope, some money. Would you mind getting it out for me? I would, but I think it would be a little improper for me to touch you there." She nodded as she unzipped a pocket and found some folded bills there. She handed him the cash and watched and he snuck away, unable to pull her eyes from his rear as she did.

"Wow, just wow." She breathed feeling a little flushed. She couldn't believe how attractive she found him in that outfit. **_No wonder he's always after me when I wear that_**. She distracted herself long enough that he had returned. He was wearing a pair of black jeans over the bottom half of the uniform. She looked at him and started to laugh.

"What, I thought it looked fine." The former Cat Noir, currently Ladybug remarked.

"No, it's fine, it's really fine." She giggled. "I'll miss looking at your physique though." The words came out before she could stop herself.

"Cat Noir!" He exclaimed. "It's time for us to get serious. Lets see if we can take care of this enemy with minimal damage to the surroundings." He shook his head and swung the Yo-Yo towards one of the buildings. Cat Noir followed using her staff to vault towards the creature.

* * *

Ladybug and Cat Noir ran from the crowd after the defeat of the newest creature that went after Paris. The pair had been more then a little stunned by the reactions of so many people on the streets. People were booing them, throwing things at them and just yelling obscene stuff. They had to run away from what would be best called riots against them. What had turned so many in Paris against them? They were mostly beloved only a week ago.

The pair escaped the attacks and hide out of sight under one of the bridges at Seine River. Ladybug and Cat Noir took some cardboard boxes that were left under there and piled them out to create a barrier. The pair both went to opposite sides.

"Well, lets switch back our Miraculouses while we have the chance." Ladybug suggested. The pair both called for their transformations to end. Adrien tried to remove the earrings and couldn't. Marinette tried the same with her ring. It was firmly stuck in place.

"It's not coming off." Marinette stated.

"Neither are these." Adrian replied. **_I should just tell her who I am. With everything that's going on, maybe that would be for the best, but I can't. I need to make sure Marinette likes me before I tell her._** He thought as he continued to try to remove the earrings.

"With the fear of jumping to conclusions again, which I know I have done on a couple of occasions previously, I'm thinking this has to do with our current unknown enemy." Marinette suggested. "I just don't know how they were able to pull this off."

"I'm as confused as you are." He replied. Tiki and Plagg both flew over to the original partners to get a chance to speak with them.

"You'll take care of her right?" Adrien asked the cat Kwami.

"Of course I will, and I'll keep your secret until you tell me otherwise."

"I want you to do whatever you can to help him, Tiki," Marinette stated. "Just like you have with me. I don't always approve of how he acts, but he's my partner, and I do care about his safety." She whispered to make certain she wasn't heard. It wouldn't do for Cat Noir to know that Ladybug actually cared about him. He'd probably jump to the wrong conclusion.

"I will." Tiki replied with a smile. She wanted to desperately tell Marinette who Cat Noir really was, but unless she was allowed to she wouldn't do it. It wasn't her secret to share, just as she wouldn't share Marinette's secrets, either of them. Before they parted, Marinette gave Tiki a cookie to eat, just as Adrien gave Plagg some cheese. Once they finished saying their goodbyes the pair transformed again and split up.

* * *

"Why did I say those things?" Marinette cried once she got home and transformed back. She hadn't put much thought into what had occurred earlier because she was busy with trying to take off the ring and then speak to Tiki. Plagg floated near her head and replied, even if she wasn't really expecting an answer.

"It's because you were merged with me." He stated as he looked at the posters on her wall. He wasn't surprised to see them, but he realized she must take them down every time Adrien had been over at her house, not that it happened very often. "Being merged with me makes you a little less filtered. I'm the more fun Kwami between Tiki and myself." He continued. "We have somewhat of an affect on how you act. Sort of how you are clumsy and kind of a spaz as yourself, but graceful and more analytical when merged with Tiki."

"What?" She asked confused. She hadn't thought about it before, but even if she had a few clumsy moments as Ladybug, she tended to save herself from really falling apart. Then something else occurred to her. **_Plagg knows way more about how I am to just known me from the couple of incidents I ran into Cat Noir as myself._**

"Just like how Aaa, ahh Cat Noir is really more focused as himself, but when merged with me, he acts more like a kid his age should act." He added. **_If Cat Noir is like me, he must normally have Plagg with him like I do with Tiki. If that's the case, then he has to be someone I know, and know well enough that Plagg would see how much off a klutz I am. That means, classmates, regulars at the bakery, my sewing circle maybe?_** She started to look over the class photos she had. She mentally X'd the people who'd been Akumaized. Her eyes widened. She started looking at the ring she was wearing and then looked at Adrien's photos and posters.

"Not one shows it clearly." She said out loud, irritated that she couldn't see the ring, Adrien always wore, in any of the photos. At least not clear enough for the comparison. She tried to think about it, part of her head pushing her to remember the number of times he'd been a victim, captured by some Akumatized student. She needed to check on him and the other students in class and school. She would also need to look at some of the other people she knew as well.

* * *

"I'm glad it's cold out today." Marinette commented to Plagg as she walked to school. "I can wear gloves and no one should notice the ring." She added. Marinette had spend some time the night before make a pair of copycat earrings to replace her Miraculous, so no one would notice she wasn't wearing her usual pair. She'd actually considered wearing a different pair, but with everything else going on, and Alya being Alya, she didn't want to add to her friend's list of reasons she could be Ladybug. Speaking of Alya, she rushed to Marinette in an obviously angry mood.

"Can you believe this garbage!" She exclaimed as she shook the Paris newspaper in front of Marinette's face. Trying to read the moving paper made Marinette dizzy. Alya stopped and held it in front of her best friend's face.

"The True Hero is HawkMoth." She read aloud. "What?" Marinette continued to read, speaking up occasionally. "Anonymous Sources? Russian Interference? More anonymous sources? Ladybug and Cat Noir Destroying Paris?" Marinette shook her head, her face clearly showing her confusion.

"Apparently this quote, journalist is claiming that she has anonymous sources telling her that the only reason we consider Hawkmoth to be a villain while we think of Ladybug and Cat Noir as Heroes is because of Russian interference. Now with the damage those weird Cyclopes have been causing, that Ladybug and Cat Noir are out to destroy Paris." Alya stated in anger. "This reporting is garbage. She obviously hates Ladybug and Cat Noir, even the information she has correct is _intentionally_ misinterpreted to make it seem bad. Even good stuff is misreported."

"I saw what happened yesterday, what she called a protest was a riot. Did you see the damage those people did to the streets? One car was even flipped? Who flips a car in Paris? Those things just don't happen here. And to suggest that Ladybug and Cat Noir exchanged powers because they were bored, seriously?" Ayla finished.

"I don't understand how she has sources telling her what they are telling her." Marinette commented trying to wrap her head around the report.

"A real reporter wouldn't list anonymous sources like that. They would use that information to find sources that could confirm it, people who would go on the record, or physical proof. If she's just quoting them like this, it's because either her sources are not truthful and don't want anyone to be able to look into them, or she is straight out lying. This isn't a news story, it's a bad fan fiction!" Alya finished with a yell.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm obviously biased myself when it comes to Ladybug, but I try to keep my personal biased out of my articles, and be as open with my reporting on the Ladyblog as I can. You've seen the bad and embarrassing stories I've posted since Ladybug showed up." She was still breathing a little hard.

"Yes, yes I have. "Marinette turned to look away from her friend, although she couldn't keep all her irritation out of her voice. She could still see the photo of her and Cat Noir tangled together on Alya's Floor with the caption of "Merry Christmas" on it.

"How this woman has a job as a reporter, let alone has a front page story is beyond me." She continued as they made it to class. She huffed a little longer and didn't notice Marinette was looking around at some of the boys in class. She froze as she saw Adrien enter. She had some expectations that she would see her Earrings on him, but like most of the class, he was dressed for the colder temperatures, including a hat that had flaps covering his ears. She frowned.

"Okay class, we will be doing a special Project and will needs groups. . . " Ms Bustier stopped as she watched all kinds of carnage unfold in front of her. The carnage included Alya shoving Marinette over their table at Adrien, while pulling on Nino's shirt to pull him up to her. As that was happening, Chloe jumped across the gap between the two columns of seats, also towards Adrien. The timing was perfect in that Chloe and Marinette ended up being tangled up together, but that wasn't all. With the force Chloe had jumped, the Marinette/Chloe tangle crashed into Adrien, sucking him inside, rolling all the way across the bench so the three ended up in a nearly unidentifiable pile on the ground.

Ms. Bustier lifted her hands to rub her temples with her fingers closing her eyes and sighing.

"We will be doing this in groups of three. Since Marinette, Chloe and Adrien are already together, they will be group one." She stated. "Sabrina, you will join with Alya and Nino, everyone else, break up into groups of three however you want."

"I want you as a group to pick out your favorite piece of literature that we have covered this year and put together two outfits. One will be as it is described in the story. The second one will be a modernized version of it. We have a lot of creative people in this class, so I want to allow you to use that creativity. **_And I really can't deal with another set of short stories from you,_** She added in her mind. "And this will be a fully student only project, no parents, no friends, and no outside designers." She looked over at Chloe as she said the last part. Chloe may have been offended had she been untangled enough to see the teachers look, however neither her nor Marinette appeared to be in any hurry to disengage themselves from Adrien. Adrien however, had one arm out of the pile and stretched towards Nino as if begging for help.

"Once you have your costume, you will then speak on the passage you used for the original version, then tell the class about how you came up with the modern version and what changes would need to be made to the passage and maybe even the entire story to have that version." Ms. Bustier finished the assignment description with a smile. "Now you may discuss your plans until the end of the period."

Adrien managed to extract himself from the tangle of limbs without Marinette or Chloe noticing right away, leaving them in a humorously awkward position. Once they realized who was missing, the pair practically jumped apart. Marinette landed Awkwardly on the nearby step and fell at the teacher's feet. She groaned and looked up at MS. Bustier.

"Um, I like your new pumps." She stated.

"Please Marinette, just go to your group and get to work. Marinette Apologized and went back to the bench. Adrien was in the middle of the two girls, feeling a little uncomfortable, trapped between mortal enemies, even if he had witnessed the enemies making out before.

"I will come up with the ideas, Marinette, you'll be adequate enough to design, with my help, and make the outfits, while Adrien will model them." Chloe stated taking charge of the situation.

"Hey." Marinette complained, but before she could say anything else, Adrien spoke.

"I'm okay with Modeling them, just don't stick me in a dress or any. . . " He paused as he looked back and forth between the two girls. "Are your eyes sparkling?" He asked concerned. "Um, I think I see some drool." He added. He wanted to escape but there was no escape for him. By the time class was over, Marinette and Chloe planned to go to Les Halles to see some of the new Fashion and Fabric stores in the underground portion, while Adrien would end up going to fencing. The part that concerned him was that the girls hadn't picked anything out to make yet, or if they had, they didn't mention it to him. He suspected they had decided to put him in a dress after all.

* * *

"I have enjoyed watching you destroy the reputations of Ladybug and Cat Noir, Storyteller, but I am starting to grow impatient. I want those Miraculouses." HawkMoth stated in irritation.

"I will have them for you soon, Hawkmoth. I can't believe how perfect my plan has been going. I didn't expect those Protests to be so violent." She added. "I've really turned people against them, and more accepting of you."

"I paid people to Riot, Storyteller." Hawkmoth admitted. "To hurry your plan along."

"Oh, well, that still works." She added. "I don't mind a little help. I have a two part plan starting today that will end with you getting their Miracoulouses." She grinned.

* * *

Adrien leaned back in his chair as he pulled out a copy of the afternoon paper to read. He figured his dad wouldn't mind him going over it ahead of him. He looked at the front page with the headline **_EXPLOSIONS AT LES HALLES_**. Adrien sat up.

"What the heck is this?" He asked. He had the TV on, if there had been an explosion like that, he was certain it would have been on a live news report, but it wasn't. He read through the story. People were trapped, and it blamed Ladybug and Cat Noir for it. Now he knew it hadn't happened. He wasn't anywhere near there. As he finished the Article, breaking news came on his TV. A series of explosions had just rocked Les Halles.

"No!" Adrien yelled. Tiki looked at the screen in horror, frozen by the scene she was watching. "Marinette and Chloe went there. We have to go Tiki." He stated getting ready to transform. Tiki still wasn't moving. She was obviously worried about Marinette. "Don't worry Tiki, Marinette will be fine, she's got Plagg with her." He stated as matter as factly as he could before realizing what he'd just admitted knowing. Tiki finally turned her head, looking at Adrien with eyes so large, he was surprised they didn't pop out of her oversized head. He nodded. "Yes, I already know." He added.

* * *

To Be Continued

I know I screwed up on at least one aspect of the previous Miraculous Fic I wrote. The Akuma was in Chloe's earrings when she was Anti-Bug. I don't know why I thought it was the mask.

The rest of this is done, but I'll probably wait about a week to post it.

Reviews are great, even the flames (Most reviews from "Cursed Charming?" were negative and I still read them.

I hope you've enjoyed this installment.

Peace and Love!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Marinette had fallen to the ground near Chloe when the fist explosion hit, and stayed on the ground as a number of others went off in succession. She grabbed Chloe's arm and dragged the girl with her under some of the scaffolding that was still down there for the remodeling that was going on. She hoped it would protect them from most of the falling debris. She started to slip away as Chloe grabbed her arm.

"Where do you think you're going? It's not safe!" She yelled as she pulled Mariette back under the scaffolding. Marinette went to yell an answer when the explosions stopped. After a few moments, they both slipped out to survey the damage. Luckily with the reconstruction and remodeling going on, there was a log of scaffolding still all over the place, holding much of the debris above the heads of everyone, unfortunately since they had been on the lowest level of Les Halles, there could be a lot of debris. Marinette mentally prepared herself for one of Chloe's freak-outs.

"Okay, you two over there, you're construction workers, right? I want you to _carefully_ look around and see how stable everything is." Chloe started barking orders. "I'd like everyone with children to move into the toy store over there." She pointed. "Marinette you babysit right? You should go with them to help keep the children under control." She added. Marinette just looked at her funny, still not able to connect this version of Chloe with the one she knew from school. Sure the ordering people about part, that was Chloe, but this calm and collected girl, was not.

"Okay, who are you and what have you done with Chloe?" Marinette asked once Chloe had finished ordering people about. The blonde rolled her eyes and looked directly at Marinette. "Chloe would be running and hiding under something until the danger had passed, not organizing people."

"My father was tired of me panicking every time something occurred, so he put me into Crisis Management Training." She admitted. "Apparently it worked." She gave a smile. "Sort of like him making me get self defense training, since so many Akumatized people focus on me. Not that I can blame them. I am the most popular and beautiful girl in school." **_And most delusional_** , Marinette couldn't help but add in her head. "Now, if you don't mind, please move yourself to someplace safe, I don't want to lose another person close to me." Chloe's voice trailed off, as if she realized she was talking too much.

"You know you can't just say something like that an not explain it."

"Fine, if it will get you off my back." She paused a moment. "My mother was murdered years ago." Chloe's voice turned sad. "I've never told anyone this, not even Sabrina. Back when my father first became Mayor, my mother use to take supplies to people seeking asylum, and she had me with her, as well as a bodyguard. She got lost, refusing to listen to the bodyguard as he tried to tell her she was getting into a dangerous area. We would consider them to be no go zones today. We were attacked by a bunch of the asylum seekers. My mother pushed me at our bodyguard, and told him to get me out of there. I was crying.

"The guard didn't leave right away, he started to try and fight off the men and women attacking us. They took the supplies we had, they had ripped my mother's dress, and a few were coming with baseball bats. The guard grabbed my mother's arm as he picked me up in the other one, and started to run. I was looking at my mother as the bat connected with her head. She didn't even scream. She fell, and our guard dragged her, but when his arm was hit with a bat, he let go of my mother. I could see as they started to kick and hit my mother with those bats." Marinette could see the tears in Chloe's eyes ready to burst forth.

"Her death was covered up, since both her and my father were proponents of the asylum program. They announced she died in a traffic accident."

"I'm so sorry Chloe." Mariette, said in a comforting voice.

Chloe paused. "Thank you, and now you need to listen to me and to where it is safe." Chloe looked over. "Why are you smiling?

"You called me someone close to you, so you consider me to be a friend" Mariette remarked. She would never have considered that before, never considered that she would feel good to be friends with her arch nemesis.

"No, I just think it would be weird to go to class and not have you there if something happened, that's all." She growled.

"Fine, I'm going Marinette growled back as she headed towards the toy store." She noticed in the reflection on the glass ahead of her, that Chloe was still watching her. It was hard to tell, but she was fairly certain that Chloe looked relieved.

Marinette moved towards the back of the toy store so she could speak with Plagg. She needed to know if she could use Cataclysm to help them all escape. He was certain they could, but they would need to find the right spot to do it. Marinette figured their best bet was to wait to see what the constructions workers found in their survey of the debris that trapped them. Hopefully they will have discovered a thin spot she could remove with her power. As soon as she noticed them coming back she rushed to Chloe's side to hear what they had to say.

They passed on the information on, letting Chloe know the safest places for people to wait, where the least stable areas were and the most likely area that they could be rescued from. Marinette listened intently. It sounded as if they just needed to wait and rescue should happen shortly. That was until a problem occurred. A bee trapped with them stung one of the children. That child was allergic to bee stings and her mother, didn't have an Epi pen on her. Suddenly waiting was no longer an option.

With Chloe and so many others distracted, Marinette was able to get alone where she could transform. A moment later, the female version of Cat Noir made her appearance. She rushed over to the workmen and grabbed one of them and pulled him aside.

"If I use my cataclysm power on that spot," She pointed to where they had told Chloe was the most likely route of escape. "Can I remove enough rubble so we can escape?" She asked. The men looked to his partner, and they discussed it.

"Probably." He stated. "However if there is too much rubble there, it's possible whatever else is there could fall on you." Cat Noir nodded. A life was at stake, and she wasn't as worried about herself. She rushed to that spot and cried out to activate her power.

* * *

BREAK

* * *

The male Ladybug watched as emergency workers rushed around there area, using sonar scanners to find the best place to dig, while others tried to find a way to contact the people before. Unfortunately they were having no luck contacting anyone with their cell phones. This attack was either pretty well planned, or someone just got really lucky. Ladybug was trying to figure out the best way to proceed. He found himself wishing that Marinette was next to him. She was pretty good at coming up with plans. He frowned again.

He'd already tried to contact both Chloe and Marinette on their phones just before he left his home. With no answer, he was certain they were trapped. He'd even panicked a moment afraid they had been killed. He couldn't allow those thoughts to linger. He had to believe they were still alive. Just as he jumped down to see what he could help with, he saw a potion of the rumble vanish. Workers let out surprised and frightened exclamations that he couldn't hear well enough to make out. Then suddenly the female Cat Noir jumped out of the hole carrying a child. She ran the girl to the nearest paramedic who took the child and nodded.

"Anything I can do?" Ladybug asked as he jumped down next to her. Cat Noir smiled at him.

"I think we have it all under control." She replied.

"We?"

"That Chloe girl and myself." She replied. Ladybug looked at her funny.

"That Chloe girl?" He asked. "The same one who always seems to be attacked by the akumatized people?" Cat Noir nodded as the rest of the trapped people made it out. Chloe was last to exit and her arm was bleeding. Another Paramedic helped her to an ambulance.

"What happened?" Cat Noir asked.

"I cut myself on some metal on my way out." She started. "I was trying to find someone, but couldn't see her as we left and I ran into it." The paramedic started to clean the wound causing Chloe to wince.

"Who's missing?" Ladybug asked.

"My friend Marinette." She replied. Chloe mistook the reasons for the confused looks on the two. "She's the Chinese looking girl, wears a terrible white top, a fairly cool black jacket, and the ugliest pink pants ever made. Please tell me you've seen her." Ladybug expected Cat Noir to get angry about the description but he saw a smile on Cat Noir's face ** _. Seriously, what the hell?_** He wondered.

"Kind of a cute girl right?" Cat Noir asked. Chloe actually nodded, nodded! Ladybug was now more confused then he'd ever been in his entire life. "I think I saw one of the other paramedics take her over to the side. I'll go check for you." She stated as Cat Noir was about to run off, Chloe grabbed her wrist.

"Do **_NOT_** tell her I called her my friend." She stated with a little snarl. Cat Noir nodded.

"I also won't tell her you agreed she was cute too." She added before slipping away and rushing off. Chloe looked up at Ladybug.

"So did you and Cat Noir really switch powers because you were bored, or did you guys like just change genders?" Before Ladybug could ask, Chloe spoke up again. "Are you two even the same pair as before?" Ladybug sighed as he watched the direction Cat Noir had vanished in, not seeing Marinette heading back. **_I know her time was about up, that she waited this long to hide and change was stunning and dangerous._** Ladybug felt a tap on his shoulder, and there stood Marinette behind him. **_How did she?_**

"Pardon me." She said softly. "I heard that Chloe was concerned about me."

"I was not concerned about you." Chloe sneered. "I just didn't see you anywhere and said something." She explained. Marinette narrowed her eyes in anger at Chloe.

"Oh, I see. Well, now you see me. I'll leave you alone then, if you want." She snarked back. Ladybug shook his head, feeling a confusion formed headache coming on." Marinette started to walk away, but Chloe reached out and grabbed her wrist. Ladybug noticed Marinette's lips curl slightly as she bit her lips to stop from smiling too much.

"That's okay, you may keep me company if you like." Chloe stated as if she was doing Marinette a Favor. "I'm sure you'd like to continue basking in my glory.

"Sure, I'll stay here." Marinette stated with a little smile just a paper cup of soda smashed into the back of Ladybug's head, splashing all three of them.

"Get out of here you criminal!" Yelled a protester. The three turned around and saw a bunch of people had arrived carrying Anti Ladybug and Cat Noir Signs. Another person tossed a couple of rocks. Ladybug spun his yoyo around quickly to block them from the girls.

"What are you idiots doing!" Chloe yelled at them.

"Stop Destroying France!"

"We love Hawkmoth!"

"Ladybug go away!" Different yells going on, as different objects were being thrown.

"I'm going to leave, hopefully they will follow me and you guys will be safe." Ladybug stated before running off. Most of them run to follow a few others stayed behind.

"If you two are close with those villains, then you need to be punished." One rather large woman stated as she stalked up to Marinette and Chloe. A couple of other woman moved with her.

"What is wrong with you?" Marinette asked angrily. "Cat Noir just saved our lives, and you're threatening them and us?" She yelled. "You're the only villains I see here."

"Oh, girl, you are going to regret saying that." She grinned and pulled out a knife.

* * *

BREAK

* * *

"Can you believe this crap, this paper reports?" Alya said as she noticed Marinette walking towards her. "I saw the riot and yet this twit is calling it a protest again." She added and paused as Marinette looked up towards her. "Marinette! What happened?" She exclaimed when she saw the bruising and black eye on her best friend's face.

"I was caught up in the protest." She used air quotes when she said protest. "Chloe and I were there shopping when it everything happened."

"You got beat up?" She asked. Marinette shook her head. "But the bruises?"

"Actually, we won." Marinette said with a smile. Alya's eyes went wide at the statement, then she noted that Chloe was wearing way too much make-up, even for her.

"Wait, you and Chloe won?" She asked.

"With the help of Adrian. He came to check on us when he heard about the explosions ." She smiled. "You should have seen him, he was magnificent." Marinette cooed, as she held her hands together at her chest and did a spin on one leg. Alya's jaw dropped so hard it hurt.

"Hey Alya, you should close your mouth, a bug might fly in there." Nino commented as he walked by with Adrian. Adrian also had a black eye, and she could see where he'd gotten a busted lip.

"I, I, I, . . . I really need to document this!" She exclaimed. "I need to let people see how these Anti Ladybug and Cat Noir demonstrators are causing violence and hurting innocent people. Alya grabbed Marinette's hand and dragged her over to where Adrian and Nino were standing. She then grabbed his hand and dragged them both to Chloe.

* * *

BREAK

* * *

"I honestly didn't believe that Chloe would agree to be interviewed, especially without her make-up on." Marinette admitted when she and Alya were eating lunch.

"Well if there is one thing Chloe craves, it's attention." The blogger remarked with a smile. "She knows my LadyBlog gets a ton of hits, so her face will be everywhere. It'll stroke her ego." **_With Ladybug a man now, should I change the name?_** She wondered to herself.

"I don't think that's it, at least not all of it." Mariette countered as she thought about the story Chloe had told her last night. Sure, fame was probably a huge part of it, but Marinette couldn't help but think she also didn't want to see anyone else get hurt. **_Am I actually humanizing Chloe?_**

Alya dismissed the notion with a wave of her hand. She looked at the hits on her post and saw a number of negative comments. So many people where saying that her friends deserved what they got for supporting Ladybug and Cat Noir. People were demanding investigations into Ladybug and Cat Noir and their true motivations. Alya felt a little lightheaded at the surrealness of the situation.

"What is wrong with those people?" She cried out, startling her friend. Marinette held her hand to her chest breathing hard like she'd had a heart attack and gave Alya a dirty look. Alya showed Marinette the postings. Marinette sighed. She was getting use to these things.

"Maybe it's best if you just leave it alone for a while." She suggested. Alya looked stunned.

"I can't do that. These people are talking about crazy things and straight out lies. Someone needs to stand up to them, and that someone is me." Marinette cocked her head to the side a moment, and contemplated her friend a moment before giving her a hug.

"Never change." She whispered. Alya blushed and smiled.

* * *

BREAK

* * *

"I need more power." Storyteller complained as she reviewed her most recent results from the editor's office of the newspaper that had previously fired her. She paced around the desk. Since taking over the newspaper she'd become much stronger with her abilities, but she still wasn't strong enough. She needed to think outside the box. She smiled a moment and started writing.

* * *

BREAK

* * *

Marinette lay on her bed looking up at the poster of Adrian that was on her ceiling. She was having fun as Cat Noir, she had to admit it to herself. She felt more free then she ever had, even if it seemed to herself that she kept embarrassing herself with the things she found herself saying. However, truthfully she really missed Tikki. She could talk to Tikki about personal stuff. Plagg on the other hand tended to be interested in eating, belching and sleeping. She realized Tikki was probably her best friend and confidant. She rolled over and picked up the newspaper that was lying next to her.

"What the what?" She exclaimed as she jumped up. The front-page story showed a picture of Anti-Bug standing over Cat Noir, as in her version of Cat Noir, with a headline that read "Akumatized Hero's Gather Together to Defeat the Dangerous Ladybug and Cat Noir."

"Now I know that didn't happen." She looked at the photo. Cat Noir looked like her and Anti-Bug looked like Chloe. "How is this possible? Was it Photo Shopped?" It was impossible to tell if editing had been done to the photo in the newspaper. It was also a story that would have really been easy to confirm. She called Chloe.

"What do you want?" Came the "oh so loving" voice of Chloe.

"Well, I um, just." Mariette mentally slapped herself for not thinking of an excuse for calling her before doing it. "Do you want to see about, looking at some more material?" She felt a little lame asking.

"Oh, well that might not be too horrible of a thing to do." She replied. Marinette felt her jaw drop. She hadn't been expecting Chloe to agree to it. They made their plans to meet up and Marinette got dressed to do so. Remember Chloe's remark about her clothes the last time they went shopping, she decided to change up her look up a little.

Marinette choose to wear a blue denim miniskirt, white leggings, a white Chinese style top with red threading, and a short black jacket with three quarter sleeves. She finished off with a pair of black ankle boots, with a slight heel. She looked in the mirror a moment and wondered if she should change her hairstyle. She decided not to.

"How do I look Plagg?" She asked as she slipped a pair black gloves on.

"Hmm, you look nice." He replied without even glancing her way. She sighed, wishing again that Tikki were there instead of Plagg. She had so much trouble talking to the cat Kwami, mostly because he had little interest in anything other than cheese. She shook her head and opened her purse for Plagg to get into. He hoped in and Marinette rushed to meet with Chloe.

* * *

BREAK

* * *

"This is weird." Adrian stated as he looked at his computer screen. He'd been studying a blog for the last hour, with a handful of newspapers spread across the room.

"What's weird?" Tikki asked as she floated over to him.

"About twenty-five percent of these blog entries seem to predict monster attacks on Paris where Lady-Bug and Cat Noir got involved. The rest nothing happened. However, the person writing this blog then apparently got a job at the newspaper. She even commented about it on her blog before it looks like she started. Once she got to the newspaper, I would say around 50 percent of her articles came true, or mostly true. Then suddenly there is an article about her becoming the editor, practically out of nowhere. Once that happened, it bumped up to around 70 percent."

"You mean to say, this reporter knows what's going to happen before it happens?"

"Something like that. As I did more research on her, I noticed she was actually fired from the paper just before she started her blog, apparently for making up too many news stories." He shook his head.

"What made you look into her?" Tikki asked with a cock of her head.

"I saw the article before the breaking news on the TV when Marinette and Chloe were caught in that explosion. It didn't occur to me until this morning, that the paper was printed hours before it occurred." He explained as he leaned back in his chair. "I think maybe she's been causing the stories to occur. I just can't figure out the correlation between her rise to editor and the accuracy of the attacks." Tikki looked at the items Adrian had spread out.

"It looks like the more attention as a reporter she's gotten, the more accurate her predictions are." Tikki commented. Adrian felt back on the floor.

"Oww!" He cried as he rolled over and jumped to his feet. "That's it, she's either seeing the future or able to cause more of these stories to come true, maybe with the more people who read her stuff. I bet she's been akumatized." He frowned and started tearing through the paper to another small story that had nearly slipped his notice earlier.

"This story says she's getting a job at the TV station, working the teleprompter." He exclaimed. "If what I think is true, and she gets one of her stories over the TV, then she might become unstoppable!"

"We need to stop her." Tikki agreed to his unspoken thoughts.

"Spots on Tikki. "He cried as he brushed his hair away from his ear.

* * *

BREAK

* * *

"You look nice." A stunned Chloe stated when she saw Marinette.

"Thanks." Marinette replied a little surprised. "You do too." She added, although Chloe was pretty much wearing the same thing she always wore.

"Of course I do, I always do." She replied with a smile. The pair walked around some shops looking at the fabrics they needs for the designs Marinette had come up for their project. As Chloe was feeling a satin material she suddenly doubled over like her stomach was in pain.

"Chloe are you okay?" Marinette asked with concern in her voice. Chloe shook her head, and Marinette noticed she was starting to glow. The glow expanded suddenly and Chloe was replaced with Anti-Bug. Another flash of light, and she was holding her "Bug Slayer" sword. Without a word Anti-Bug took off. Marinette felt panicked. If Chloe suddenly changed like that, did that mean the others listed in the article had as well, and how did the writer know it would happen? She ducked between a couple of buildings.

"Claws out Plagg." She cried as she held out her ring.

* * *

BREAK

* * *

Cat Noir jumped, flipped and vaulted across the rooftops of Paris as she followed Anti-Bug. How did Chloe change again? She seemed happy enough. Was it like when Alya changed back to Lady WiFi when Puppeteer took control of her? Alya hadn't felt any pain before the change that time. She was worried about Chloe, something she would never have believed possible six months ago.

Anti-Bug appeared to be heading towards the park near the school where everyone hung out all the time. She came to a quick stop when she saw the park. Nearly all of the previous villains she'd fought were milling around there. This was far worse then when Puppeteer had brought a few villains back. She felt more then a little terrified, especially when they all turned to face Anti-Bug. For a moment, she thought they were about to attack her for looking too much like Ladybug, but they stood down.

She heard a small bell sound from her stick, and flipped open the little hatch. She saw the male version of Ladybug on the screen. Good, he knew something was going on, and would probably be here soon.

"Cat Noir," He started. "I think I have a lead on what's going on with all these monsters and attacks." He explained. "We need to get to the television station as soon as possible if we want to stop it." He added.

"Wait, so you **_don't know_** about the akumatized villains? "She asked.

"No, wait, did you just say villains? Like multiple?" He asked concerned.

"Yes, multiple, Bug-A-Boo." She replied. She could hear his annoyed sigh at the nickname. Even with the danger she was in, it brought a smile to her face to annoy him with his own nickname for her. If they ever changed back, she figured he'd stop calling her that. Although Adrian did think it was a cute nickname so she felt very torn on the subject now.

"Where are you, I'll be right there!" He stated. Cat Noir was about to say, when she saw Ladybug fly over the park and land on a rooftop. All the Akumatized villains turned to look his way.

"Hey over here!" She yelled at them coming out of hiding, and making herself very visible. She held the stick up.

"Go to the television station." She ordered. "I'll keep them busy, if you think you can end this, then that's more important." She was waving her arms as the villains all turned to look at her. She was starting to regret her decision.

"I'm not going to leave you to face a bunch of enemies alone." Ladybug stated heroically. Cat Noir realized he hadn't seen them when he flew over.

"You're closer to the TV station then you are me. You'll reach there before you'll reach me anyway." She lied."

"Okay, but as soon as I'm done there, I'm coming to help you."

"I know." She said with a smile. Changing places like that had, had given her a greater appreciation for him, and especially since she now knew a great deal of his crazy personality was Plagg's fault. Cat Noir watched most of the akumatized villains headed towards her, but a smaller group went after Ladybug. Cat Noir started to turn around, however Lady WiFi managed to block her with a pause icon. Cat Noir grumbled at almost being caught. Suddenly more icons flew at her, and one caught her foot.

"Alya, snap out of it." Cat Noir pleaded. She didn't want to hurt her friend. Before Lady WiFi could send a couple more icons at her, she was shoved out of the way, knocking Cat Noir to the ground. She looked up, and standing above her was Anti-Bug. Cat Noir realized they were in the same position as the photo she'd seen earlier in the paper.

"I don't know how long I can hold out." Anti-Bug groaned, shaking a little. "You need to stop this." She added the strain obvious in her voice.

* * *

BREAK

* * *

Ladybug made it to the television station and rushed inside. No one spoke or tried to stop him. They all seemed to be going about their duties like mindless zombies. That confirmed if for him. Their enemy was in this building. He rushed as quickly as he could to the studio where he saw Nadja Chamack at the Anchor's desk reading from the teleprompter.

"And I'd like to introduce to you our newest news anchor, Story Teller." She stated.

"No, Stop!" Ladybug shouted but it was too late. Story Teller had already walked in front of the Camera. She smiled widely and held out her arms.

"I am so please to report that I will finally reveal to you the identity of the vandals, Ladybug and Cat Noir." She announced over the airwaves. "And we will do it right after this commercial break while Ladybug here is strapped down by some of the background characters who work at this station. " As she spoke Ladybug tried to leave, but he was immediately grabbed by a cameraman and a grip, and forced into a chair where zip ties were used to hold him in place.

"Looks like I will do what no one else has been able to." She stated as she sashayed towards ladybug. "I do hope you're handsome under that mask, or I'll be very disappointed." Story Teller ran her fingernails along Ladybug's check as she licked her lips. She looked over and saw a pair of shears sitting back on a supply table and moved back to Ladybug. "I do not approve of the shorts, by the way." She took the shears and started to cut away the shorts he was still wearing over the costume. Ladybug got a look of panic on his face as she cut way to close for his comfort.

"Please be careful, I hope to use those one day soon." He stated, trying to be flippant about it.

"Oh Honey, if you're handsome under that mask, I'm hoping you'll be using all that later today." She smiled. His eyes went wide.

"Seriously, you're like what, in your forties, and I'm still underage." He blurted out.

"I've not even hit my mid twenties, you little shit." She remarked and slapped him hard across the face. She turned as she heard the countdown to the end of the commercial break. She put a smile on her face as she started speaking to the Camera.

"Welcome back, this is Story Teller returning to you with a special news bulletin." She stated as she stood next to Ladybug.

"You're not news, you are Fake News!" Ladybug shouted at her. Story Teller's face twisted in rage.

"How dare you!" She shouted. "I am not fake news!"

"Really, because I've read your Blog, and your news articles. You make up stories in hopes of them coming true. That's your power isn't it? The more people who pay attention to you, the more likely your stories are going to come true. That is why you're here isn't it? To have the largest audience you can? " He stated with a smile. "Let's be honest. Making up stories is certainly Fake News to me. Your name is Story Teller, not Truth Teller after all." He grinned.

"I will kill you for that." She shouted.

"Truth hurts, doesn't it, Fake News?" He added with a grin. She reared back as if to hit him again.

"CATACLYZM!" They heard exclaimed. Story Teller turned to the sound, in time to see Cat Noir running her hand along the power cords of the Large Camera's, shutting them all down. She stopped when she got to the end. "Sorry, I was late Bug-A-Boo." She smiled.

"How dare you interrupt me!" Story Teller Yelled again. "Now for the greatest news report ever as I unmask Ladybug and Cat Noir by having them hand me their Miraculouses." She stated to the camera. Nothing happened. The people who worked at the station were giving her some strange looks as well. "Why isn't it working?"

"That's easy, I turned off the power. There is no signal going out." Cat Noir explained from the side of Ladybug as she used her claws to slice through his bonds. Ladybug stood up and smiled.

"Why do you think I was explaining how your power worked, like I was? I saw Cat Noir in the shadows and let her know how to stop you." He smirked. "As Cat Noir, I obviously talked for the sake of hearing m own voice, but as Ladybug, I'm a little more reserved, or hadn't you noticed that?"

"Not very observant for someone who claims to be a reporter." Cat Noir added, but I guess that makes sense, right Fake News?" She added.

"It's Story Teller, not Fake News!" She screamed and rushed them. They both bounded out of the way. Ladybug noticed the pen in Story Teller's hand and snatched it away as she passed by him.

"Looks like we're just about done with you here." He stated as he snapped the pen in half releasing the Akuma. "You know, I've always wanted to do this." He swung the yoyo and captured the Akuma with it. A moment later he opened it up with a smile. "Bye-bye little butterfly." He said. He paused and looked at Cat Noir. "Um is there anything special I need to do now to fix everything?"

"Just toss up the lucky charm now that it's been charged with the Akuma's power and yell out Miraculous Ladybug." She replied. Ladybug did just that, repairing the all the damage for the last few weeks of battles.

* * *

BREAK

* * *

"No, not again. We were so close, so close." Hawkmoth yelled in his sound proofed base of operations. He was mad enough he threw his cane like a spear into the wall. He closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. "I will get my revenge on them."

* * *

BREAK

* * *

"Do you think we'll be able to switch Miraculouses now?" Ladybug asked as the pair disappeared leaving Sherrie Roux in the studio under the care of the real employees of the studio.

"I hope so. We need to find a place that's hidden where we can both hide and change back while keeping our identities secret still." She commented listening to her ring beep it's warning. Luckily for them the wardrobe room was unlocked and they were able to sneak in. Hiding behind one rack of clothes while separating themselves with a second rack, the pair returned to their normal selves. Marinette slowly slid the ring from her finger and smiled.

"That you for all your help Plagg." She said and gave him a little kiss on the head and a piece of cheese, letting him finish it before fully removing the ring.

"It's been fun Tikki." Adrian said with a smile. "And lets keep this to ourselves." He added. Tikki smiled and nodded. Adrian had one earring off, and handed her a cookie and much like Marinette let her finish eating before removing the other one.

"Ready to trade?" Marinette asked.

"I am." Adrian replied. As they traded their Miraculouses, their hands lingered together for longer then necessary. For probably the first time, Marinette welcomed a more intimate touch from her crime fighting partner. She felt like she had a better understanding of him now, and why he was such a goofball. She smiled as she ran her fingers along his hand and even frowned a little when the lost contact. She took the earrings and put them on.

"Spots on Tikki." She called as Adrian added "Claws Out Plagg."

* * *

Epilogue:

* * *

Marinette returned to class the next morning, happy that the heater was working properly again so she could wear her regular clothes and didn't have to worry about wearing gloves still. She sat in her spot just behind Adrian's seat and waited for him to come into the room. She smiled to herself happy that things had gone back to normal.

"Do you believe this?" Alya asked as she held that morning newspaper at her. Marinette stared at the door since Adrian was walking in.

"What Adrian looking so good? Yeah, I can believe it." She replied in a soft almost musical voice.

"No, not that. Get a grip girl." Alya berated her best friend. Marinette looked at the paper. She blinked and took it from her.

"Wait, are you saying that even after the truth came out about the lies being spread by Story Teller, that twenty-five percent of Paris residents still believe the garbage she made up?"

"Exactly? It's insane isn't it? I would have figured that after the truth came out, people would have let all those lies go, but apparently not." Alya shook her head. "It's really disheartening to see how the hatred of single a journalist can be passed on to the people who consume the news. It really is depressing." She sighed. "I even get nasty comments and threats on my Ladyblog, now."

"Oh Alya, I'm so sorry." Marinette apologized to her friend. Alya laughed a moment.

"Oh girl, you don't need to apologize, it's not like you have anything to do with it right."

"Um, yeah right." She remarked. She froze as she stared at the side of Adrian's head as he went to sit down, more exactly, his ear. She could see a difference in color, as if he'd used make-up on it, to cover something up but didn't blend it properly. She knew his head better then anyone else, and was able to see the signs of a pierced ear on him. She knew it wouldn't be obvious to probably anyone else, but she could see it. The make-up wasn't doing a good enough job of covering it up.

Alya rolled her eyes, knowing that talking to Mariette was pointless when she was staring at Adrian.

 ** _Since when did he have his ears pierced?_** She tried to think of the last time she'd seen his ears, and it had been a while. In fact she recalled he wore a large hat with earflaps while the heater in the school was malfunctioning. It was just before that that she recalled his ear being unmarked. She looked down at his hand and the ring on his finger. She frowned. It was just a plain loop. However, when Nino handed him something, she saw the rest of the ring as it had spun on his finger. **_No, it can't be._** She told herself. **_There is no way that can be true, can it?_**

* * *

BREAK

* * *

Once classes were over, Marinette took off quickly. She needed to get home where she was safe to talk and act however she wanted without anyone seeing her.

"What's her hurry?" Adrian asked Alya, as they watched Marinette's impression of the Flash.

"I have no idea. I didn't even know she could move that fast." Alya added.

"It's pretty impressive."

"You're staring at her butt aren't you?"

"What, no, of course not. "Adrian blushed fiercely.

* * *

BREAK

* * *

Marinette made it back home and up to her room in record time. She opened her bag to let Tikki out. The little Kwami was shaken up from all the jostling that occurred in the bag. She felt a little dizzy as she sat here.

"Oh my god Tikki, Oh my god." She cried out trying to not scream. She was dancing around the room in an overly excited manner. Her plan to get home had been a good one. Anyone else who saw her, might have suggested she needed to be committed for a while. "I figured out who Cat Noir is." She squeed.

Marinette picked up Tikki and spun her around, not helping the Kwami's dizziness. "It's Adrian, Cat Noir is Adrian." She practically sung those words. She'd watched him closely throughout the day and she was certain that Adrian was Cat Noir. "And since Cat Noir is in Love with Ladybug, and Adrian is Cat Noir, that means Adrian in in Love with Ladybug. Do you get it Tikki? Adrian is in love with me." She smiled so large Tikki thought her head might fall off at the mouth.

"Wait… No, he loves Ladybug. He doesn't love me. He doesn't even know I'm Ladybug." Marinette went on. Tikki wanted to say something but had to bit her lips to keep from speaking. "and I've treated Cat Noir pretty badly since I've know him, although Cat Noir still goes after Ladybug, so at least I think he can forgive me for that." She sighed as she set Tikki down. "I could tell him. I trust him." Tikki smiled to herself. She could see that she wouldn't have to keep the secret any longer.

"No, I'll need to wait. I think I need to get to know that version of him better." She smiled still thinking of that moment her fingers lingered on Cat Noir's even before she knew he was Adrian. It had felt right at that moment.

"Yeah, I'll need to wait." She looked over at her Kwami. "Tikki, why are you crying?" Marinette asked.

"I can't tell you." The Kwami spoke between sobs.

 **END**

* * *

 **Notes:**

* * *

Original ending: It's a little different then the above, I just didn't like it.

After school, Marinette headed out, without saying anything to anyone. She needed to collect herself. She'd spent the day watching Adrian far more then ever before. Alya had even joked that she'd gone into full stalker mode. Marinette ducked in between two buildings and hit before a dumpster.

"Tikki, can you tell me who Cat Noir is?" She asked. Tikki shook her head. "If I guess will you tell me?" She asked.

"I'm sorry Marinette, I can't do that. I promised and as with you, I didn't tell him who ladybug was." She added, although that was true, she still felt like she was stretching it a little considering her reaction when Adrian had told her.

"Okay, so you can't confirm to me that Adrian is Cat Noir." She whispered. Tikki's eyes widened, but Marinette wasn't looking at her at the time. Tikki froze not sure what to say. "Okay, I am positive that Adrian is Cat Noir. I don't know if I should confront him or not. We promised to keep our identities secret." Marinette was pacing in the alleyway. "But, we already know each other, and it might be better for us at this point to say something." She added. Tikki, smiled, figuring that since Adrian already knew who she was, she might as well tell him she knew. This could work out great for her as well, since she wouldn't have to keep his identity a secret from Marinette any longer. She could see the happiness in her future.

"But I think maybe it would better not to say anything to him yet. With Ladybug not interested in Cat Noir's advances, I'd hate for him to think I don't really like him. It might be better to give Cat Noir a little more attention, build up the relationship. That's it, I'll keep it a secret until then." Mariette finished before glancing at Tikki. She looked concerned. "Tikki, why are you crying?" She asked.

"I can't tell you." She spoke between sobs.

 **Additional Notes:** So at the time I was writing this story, the last episode released had been the Christmas Special and I think it was in a recent episode we find out that Chloe's mother is still alive. Well, that was too late to keep her alive in this story. Sorry Chloe's Mom. I'm pretty certain there are tons of Fan Fics out there that swap the characters like this, but I wanted to my own version, and wanted what I am hoping was a unique hook to it.

I also hope I understood the design for Les Halles, that I saw online and if not, I apologize for my mistake, as I've never seen it.

If you've noticed everyone, in the Fics I write, get their Memories back eventually after being Akumatized. If we follow the basic story that these were all once used for good, and heroics, then the idea that the Butterfly Miraculous wipes out the memories, of the people enhanced, then it seems really cruel heroic power. I figure for the Heroic side people must have volunteered to be akumitized. I figure if the amnesia must have been a best temporary, otherwise who would volunteer.

As Always I hope you enjoyed this.

Peace and Love!


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